The Adventures of Melissa
by Link015
Summary: Melissa was not happy when she was defeated by Ein and Co. She really was not a happy camper. Melissa decided to find Ein and get her revenge. Of course, revenge is never that easy...and with all these obstacles, can she even attempt it?
1. I’ll Get My Revenge!

Chris: Well, first Riviera fic. I hope you enjoy it, so enjoy!

Disclaimer: Don't own Riviera. The main characters of the fic are pretty much my own creation, however.

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**Chapter 1: I'll Get My Revenge!**

Melissa was angry. Very angry. Who was she angry at? Namely a bunch of sprites that landed her and her cronies on the injured list for a very long time. What were the names of this dastardly group of do-gooders? She hadn't caught the name of all of the characters, but she knew that the leader was this dense, innocent, brown-haired kid that they called Ein. Melissa was angry and her cohorts were doing absolutely nothing to make her feel better.

"What's with the pacing?" Jordan, the rogue that had accompanied her on their ill-fated attack on Ein's group, chewed on a piece of applecot and spat it to the side. "We can attack a helpless village if it makes you feel any better."

"Why would we do that?" Melissa shouted, pausing to glare at the laidback warrior.

"We're _demons_. It's what we do." Jordan replied, taking another bite out of the applecot he held in his hand. "Besides, what good is pacing going to do? Face it, we got our butts kicked by Ein and that weird sword that he has."

"Never! I will never accept defeat!" Melissa clenched her fists in anger. Her horrendous defeat at the hands of Ein and company flashed in her memory and she shuddered angrily.

_---_

"_Taste my magic!" Melissa shouted as she waved her staff in the air, causing a wave of flame to dart towards Ein. The boy quickly dodged the flames and the only ill effect was the fact that his pants were now on fire. He spent a couple of minutes futilely beating at the flames before readying himself for another attack._

"_It's my turn now!" An Arc, one of the races of Sprites that had bat-like wings and small horns, charged at Jordan with a scythe, sweeping it in an overhead arc that would have beheaded the rogue if he hadn't ducked just in time. However, just as he was straightening, an arrow thudded against the leather armor he wore and Jordan was knocked backwards onto the stone bricks, gasping in pain._

_Silvei, the archer that accompanied Melissa, readied her own returning volley, but her path was blocked by the Arc, who unleashed a flurry of attacks that were too fast for Silvei to counter, thus taking her out of the fight. _

"_I won't lose!" Melissa shrieked as she thrust her staff forward. A huge fireball erupted from its tip and launched itself towards Ein's group before splitting into miniature versions and crashing all around the floor. The crystal that topped her wooden staff shattered from the strain and when the smoke and fire faded, Melissa saw that her foes were hurt, but not killed. "No!"_

"_Time to finish this." Ein pulled out a thick, two-bladed, two-handed sword engraved with various runes that Melissa recognized as prayers to Thor, god of thunder. He lifted his sword in the air and a flash of magical lightning struck it. Melissa backed away in fear, but Ein seemed to move like the wind, appearing all around her and slashing her with his sword, causing currents of electricity to course through her body._

_Melissa felt her limbs grow numb and soon the world faded out of her sight._

_  
---_

"Ouch…" Silvei groaned as she stumbled in to join the other demons. Series of bloody claw marks marked her body and the archer's face was screwed up in an expression of pain. Out of the three, she was the one that suffered the most in their defeat. "It's that stupid Ein. He's the reason they work so well together."

"What can we do about it? I think we proved that we're no match for him as we are now." Jordan said, grimacing. "That was the most pathetic match-up I have ever participated in."

"I'll tell you what we're going to do! We're going to train and kick Ein's ass, you got that? I can't rest until I see him crushed beneath my feet!" Melissa pointed a finger in front of her.

"And what about that crazy sword of his? Einher-something? From what I heard, it's what's called a Diviner and alone, that thing has killed hundreds of demons. It's a demon killer, Melissa. I like being alive, you know." Jordan muttered.

"Nevermind that! We'll think of a way to neutralize it! First of all, we have to strike at his partners. Three-on-three is fair, but three-on-one is not and I want to make sure we have the best odds possible!"

"Well…How are we going to find them?" Silvei asked, her eyes shut in concentration. "We're still stuck in these stupid ruins and it's a long walk to wherever they are."

"That's why I prepared _this_!" Melissa crowed in triumph and showed her comrades a magic circle she had traced on the floor. "One of the ghosts followed them and showed me the magic circle they used to head back to their home. I duplicated it so we could travel to the exact same place!"

"If you could duplicate it, why don't we just use the one already there?" Jordan asked with a raised eye.

"…Shut up!"

_---_

"So this is Elendia. Nice place. I can't wait to pillage it." Jordan said to himself as they appeared in a cavern covered with numerous crystals and gems. The rogue tugged at a loose gem and held it critically up to his eyes, grinning as the light shined through the many facets. "Oooh…Valuable stuff."

"We're not here for that, Jordan. We're here to kidnap one of Ein's compatriots." Silvei said as she elbowed the rogue in the side. The orange-haired archer wore an unhappy expression as fingered her bow nervously as she looked around the cave. "I don't like this. I feel like we're trapped. This is sprite country. They'll kill any demons they see."

"We'll be fine." Melissa said confidently, running a hand through her braided, purple hair. The witch looked around the cave and whistled. "This place must be a natural for conducting magic."

"It is, as a matter of fact." A tall, thin girl with pale skin and long, light-blue hair stepped out of the shadows and stood in front of the three demons.

"Whoa!" Jordan leaped backwards and withdrew his axe, holding it cautiously in front of him. Silvei said nothing but notched an arrow to her bow, her eyes narrowed with suspicious. Melissa, on the other hand, did nothing but look at the girl.

"What are you doing here? You don't look like a sprite."

"I'm not. I came from Asgard to enact the gods' will." The girl bowed slightly. "My name is Sif."

"Nice to meet you, Sif." Melissa nodded. "So, what do you want?"

"I have to kill you. You are demons, demons that would come to Asgard and throw off the natural order of the world." Sif lifted her weapon, a long, jagged staff that seemed to resonate with a wild, gray-white color.

"Why would we go to Asgard? This place is good enough for us." Jordan shrugged. "There are places to loot, villages to pillage, things to steal. Why go to the gods' home and get killed for our troubles?"

"W-What?" Sif lowered her weapon reluctantly. "But Lord Hector said that demons wanted to kill everything in the world."

"Can't believe all that you hear." Jordan shrugged again. "So, anyway, why don't you lower that demon killer and help us out. We're looking for this guy called Ein."

"Ein? You know one of the Grim Angels?" Sif's reaction was a lot more surprised and heated than the three demons expected, so it took them a while to adjust.

"Grim Angels?" Silvei asked.

"Angels sent from Asgard to do the gods' will. How could you know Ein? Is he here in Riviera too?" Sif asked frantically.

"Well, yeah. He kicked our asses." Jordan said before getting smacked in the face by Melissa's staff.

"That makes no sense…Lord Hector said I was the only Grim Angel here…" Sif whispered to herself, looking around confusedly. "This cannot be right. I must talk with Ein _now_."

"We don't know where he is!" Jordan said, looking embarrassed. "You see, we wanted to kidnap one of his friends so that we could find some way to best him in battle."

"That's dishonorable."

"We're _demons!_ What'd you expect? A box of applecots and banangos? Some healing herbs?" Jordan protested.

"Anyway, it was nice meeting you, but we have to be going along our business now." Melissa said, grabbing Jordon and dragging him away. Silvei followed, remaining silent.

"Wait, let me go with you." Sif said. "I need to find out what's going on here and sticking with you three seems to be the right decision at the moment."

"You're a Grim Angel sent to kill demons. And you want to stick with demons. Are you crazy?" Melissa asked.

"Just let her." Silvei interrupted, frowning. "Don't make so much commotion. We'll be caught."

"Hey, what's going on around here?" A voice, distinctly sprite-like in nature, echoed through the caves.

"Great. Told you." Silvei sighed.

"Hide!" Melissa hissed angrily.

The four of them found suitable hiding places among the crystals and watched as a young, red-headed girl walked through the caves, a puzzled expression on her face. A pointed, black hat topped her hair and she carried a musty tome in her hands.

"It's that girl from earlier!" Melissa hissed to Jordan. "One of Ein's friends! This is perfect!"

"What should we do?" Jordan asked.

"Knock her out, duh!" Melissa replied.

"I got this." Silvei responded, pulling a flat-headed arrow from her quiver and aiming in carefully. She released the bowstring and watched with satisfaction as the missile thudded into the girl's head and sent her crashing to the floor.

"Perfect shot!" Melissa cheered. "Come on, Jordan, get her."

"What? Me? I don't know where to grab her." The rogue protested, but Melissa silenced him and dragged him towards the unconscious girl.

"You've grabbed lots of girls. Don't get cold feet right now."

"Grr…" Jordan grumbled under his breath, but he managed to lifted the girl in his arms. "Now what?"

"Now you two…three, go to our hideout while I leave a message here for Ein. Then we just get ready to fight, okay?" Melissa instructed, motioning the others to take the magic circle towards Niflheim, the location of their hideout. Once she was certain that the others had left, Melissa began tracing magical runes in the air to carve out a message that she was certain Ein would be able to see.

Chuckling to herself, she retreated back to the magic circle and directed her thoughts back towards Niflheim. As the scene in front of her evaporated, Melissa smiled. This time, she wouldn't fail to defeat Ein.

_---_

"So, tell me more about this Grim Angel stuff." Melissa said to Sif, curious out how Grim Angels operated. "I need to know, just in case this comes in handy to use against Ein."

"I shouldn't tell you. You're a demon." Sif responded, looking forward and barely moving. Apparently, the female Grim Angel felt nervous in the presence of demons.

"Aw, come on, Sif! Just a little trivia! Besides, not all demons are bad. How about when we defeat Ein, we help you out on your quest. Please?" Melissa begged.

"Fine." Sif sighed, closing her flat, red eyes. "Grim Angels are angels chosen by the gods to carry out their will. We are fighters, avengers, soldiers, messengers, anything the gods need, we deliver. Our existence is only there to serve the gods."

"That's horrible. At least a demon doesn't have to serve anyone."

"Don't interrupt." Sif said softly. "Anyway, one of the Seven Sages, Lord Hector, told us that demons were running wild in Riviera and we were instructed to kill them all." She ignored Melissa snort and continued with her story. "He blessed us all with special weapons, saying that we could overcome any barrier if we had these at our side." She motioned to the jagged metal staff at her side.

Melissa looked at the weapon closely. It barely resembled any staff that she knew and a perpetual gray-white sheen covered it. The head was sharp and various runes coated the surface. "Go on."

"This is my Diviner, Draupnir." Sif showed the staff to Melissa. "In order to get a Diviner, one is supposed to sacrifice one thing that is dear to him. Ein, your rival, sacrificed his wings in order to gain his Diviner, Einherjar. Ledah, another Grim Angel, sacrificed his emotions in order to get his own weapon, Lorelei. I, on the other hand, sacrificed the ability to dream in order to get Draupnir."

"So…You don't dream? Isn't that good?"

"It's good and bad. Each sacrifice is double-edged. Because Ein doesn't have wings to rely on, his legs get a lot more exercise than the rest of us. Because Ledah has no emotions, he can approach everything with the same level-headedness that many would envy. Because I don't dream, I don't get nightmares. However, I also don't get the funny dreams, the nice dreams, the good dreams. Every night is just an inky blackness, the same thing over and over again." A tear fell out of Sif's eye and she rubbed at it hastily. "But I talk too much."

"That's okay. I never knew it was so hard to be an angel." Melissa mused. "Well, anyway, you're with us now, so don't you worry. We'll figure out what's happening and maybe you'll get the ability to dream again." The witch stumbled to one of the rooms in the hideout, before pausing. "This might sound impertinent, but could you show me your wings? I've never seen real angel wings before."

"O-Okay…" Sif mumbled, clasping her hands. With a small chant, a pair of feathery, black wings erupted from her back, scattering loose feathers everywhere. Melissa watched with fascination, looking at the wings that flapped in the air.

"So that's an angel…" She breathed. The wings were a dark black, turning slightly gray and light-blue near the center, close to her body. Feathers kept falling from her wings, giving Melissa the impression that Sif was shedding. Shaking her head, she nodded her thanks. "That is amazing…Good night, Sif."

Still shaking her head, she walked inside her room. Sif hid her wings and dropped lightly to the room. She propped Draupnir on one of the walls and looked around in confusion. Melissa hadn't told her where she would be able to sleep. Looking worriedly, Sif lay down on the ground and shuddered.

Letting loose a small sigh, she let herself dwell on the circumstances. Meeting the demons seemed like a mixed blessing, just like everything else in her life. Sif sighed again. Another dreamless night loomed ahead of her and she was afraid to close her eyes.

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Chris: Well, I hope you enjoyed my first foray into the Riviera section! Review please and tell me what you think! 


	2. Demons and Angels

Chris: Here's another chapter for you all! Thanks to those who reviewed and I hope you enjoy this.

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**Chapter 2: Demons and Angels**

The next day, Melissa awoke a slumbering Sif and walked inside another room. The sleepy angel heard a couple of shouts of pain before Melissa walked out, smiling. Jordan stumbled out after her, a couple of burns coating his body. The rogue looked extremely disheveled with shocks of his hair disintegrated into ashes. Melissa woke Silvei in a less haphazard fashion and soon the three of them were gathered in the room with Sif.

"So, all we have to do is wait for Ein to come after us." Melissa said confidently. "I'm certain I left enough clues as to our location."

"Ugh…"

"Ah, the sprite's up!" Melissa shouted, motioning to Jordan. The rogue quickly tied the sprite's hands behind herself and allowed his eyes to roam her body, a lecherous grin spreading on his face. Silvei noticed this and smacked him across the head.

"What's going on? Where am I?" The sprite asked dazedly. She tried to rub at her bleary eyes, only to find out her hands were bound. This new revelation awoke her fully and she struggled against the rope, grimacing.

"Glad to see you're awake, sprite." Melissa said wickedly.

"Who are you?" The sprite asked fearfully. Recognition dawned on her face, however. "Hey, you're those demons that Ein beat!"

Melissa grimaced and restrained the urge to slap the sprite across the face. "Shut up and stay silent. We want a little revenge with your friend. You're our bait so just keep quiet."

"…" The sprite frowned, thinking hard. "Ein will beat you."

"You seem confident in him." Silvei said, her eyes narrowed. "Why?"

The red-haired sprite blushed slightly. "I don't have to tell you. You're demons."

"Why must they rub that fact in our faces?" Jordan sighed in self-pity. "We're all beings of Riviera."

"Look who's getting philosophical on us." Melissa smirked. "Anyway, just wait for a second. I'm sure Ein will be here soon. Oh, there's someone who would like to ask you about Ein."

"Who?" Their captive asked suspiciously.

"I do." Sif said, her voice soft. "Who is this Ein that you know?"

"…" The sprite just folded her arms and refused to answer.

"I _need_ to know." Sif groaned, talking more to herself than anyone else. "I guess I just have to wait. I've done enough of that lately."

"Hey, cheer up. You'll find your answers soon enough." Melissa patted the Grim Angel on the back. "Ein is certain to come here."

_---_

"Hey Ein! We've got a problem!" Serene, an Arc with blue hair, burst into Fia's home, her wings beating frantically out of agitation.

Ein, the young, brown-haired Grim Angel, looked at Serene in confusion. "What's wrong?"

"Cierra's missing! Claude said that she left to investigate a sound and that was yesterday!" Serene said frantically. "It has to be demons! But how could they enter here?"

"I don't know." Ein said, leaping on his feet and grabbing his equipment. "Come on, get Lina and Fia and we're leaving. I'll go tell the Elder."

"Right!" Serene rushed off to find their other two companions. "If it's demons, I will make them pay for everything!"

_---_

"Prepare to pay for your crimes!" Ein burst into Melissa's hideout before pausing in surprise. "It's you!"

"Ein! I'm so glad to see you!"

"Cierra! You're okay!" Ein said gratefully before returning his attention back to the demons. "Give her back to us!"

"No way! Not until we face you in a rematch!" Melissa shouted.

"Wait." Sif stepped forward and looked closely at Ein. "You _are_ Ein, aren't you?"

"Do I know you?" Ein paused to look at this new acquaintance. "Wait…You seem familiar. Long, light-blue hair, soft-spoken…You're Sif!"

"Correct." Sif nodded her head. "Now if you'll tell me, what are you doing here? I thought _I_ was the only Grim Angel in Riviera. At least, that's what Lord Hector told me."

"I was sent to destroy the demons and prevent the Retribution." Ein said plainly.

"So was I." Sif replied. "Apparently, Lord Hector has not been very truthful to us."

"If I may interrupt, what are you two talking about?" Melissa asked. Nods from Ein's friends showed that they weren't the only people who were in the dark about all of this.

"This is a private matter and does not concern you at this moment. Maybe later, I will tell you, but for now it is a secret." Sif said. She curtseyed to Ein briefly. "It was a pleasure meeting you again, Master Ein, even in such trying times."

"Um…Thanks." Ein flushed.

"Enough of this!" Melissa screamed, tired of all the talking. The object of her vengeance was in front of her, yet she could do nothing but watch as he and Sif chewed the fat. She called a fireball from the tip of her staff and launched it at the unprepared angel. However, Sif sliced it in half with her Diviner and waved Melissa off.

"No fighting. And return their friend to them. You cannot defeat him as you are now." Sif stated. The Grim Angel walked towards Cierra and released her from her bonds. "I am sorry for the trouble we have caused you."

"T-Thank you." Cierra said, embarrassed. She quickly rejoined the rest of her friends, who were milling around in confusion. Melissa and her friends looked just as clueless as they looked.

"Sif! You can't just do that!" Melissa protested, half of her mind telling to attack Sif and get all of this over with. The witch stalked towards the sprites, but Sif stopped her from attack.

"No fighting. Please. Not now. There are many things we must talk about together, Melissa." Sif said. "Farewell, Ein and may the gods' blessings travel with you."

"You're staying with them?" Ein asked, scratching the back of his head. "That doesn't make much sense."

"Nothing makes much sense in these times." Sif answered. "But…I feel kinship with these demons." She turned her back on her fellow angel and headed back to Melissa.

"It's a good thing Sif is stopping us or else your ashes would feed my plants!" Melissa taunted.

"Just try it, bitch!" The lone Arc in Ein's party gripped her scythe dangerously, her eyes glinting with battle lust. "I'll slice your head off of your body before you can even _think_ about casting a spell!"

"Serene, later. Not now." A caring-looking sprite with long, green hair that was tied with a bow, placed a hand on the Arc's shoulder. "We shouldn't always have to fight."

"Tch." Serene glowered at the demons before spinning away. "We'll dance later, witch."

"See if you can catch up." Melissa retorted.

After a couple of more tense moments, Ein and his friends departed from Niflheim, leaving behind a couple of confused demons and one Grim Angel. Now that the object of her revenge was out of her sight, Melissa whirled on Sif, her eyes blazing angrily.

"What in the name of Hades was that all about?" Melissa shouted, pointing behind her. Sif was looking ashamedly at the ground, not looking up at the witch. "Answer me! Why did you stop us?"

"I had to. You would have died." Sif said plainly, in a slightly pleading voice.

"What makes you so certain? We didn't die earlier!" Melissa retorted. "You make me so angry! I have half a mind to kill you right now!"

"Very well. You wouldn't be able to, but you may do all that you wish to get rid of your anger." Sif replied, her head still bowed. "But please, I did it for your own good."

"Like hell you did!" Jordan, who had pretty much on the sidelines, finally spoke up. "You just stopped us from fighting because there were more things you wanted to ask Ein, isn't that right? Why? What were you two in Asgard? Sweethearts?"

Sif blushed and shook her head rapidly. "No!" She gulped and shook her head, calming herself down. "No, nothing like that. Romantic relationships are pretty much forbidden between fellow angels. Friendship, yes, but we are not allowed to progress any further. Any who break the rule have their wings stricken from them and are cast down as a Fallen Angel."

"Hmmm…" Jordan murmured to himself. "I see. But what are we supposed to do now? That was our only plan for getting back at Ein."

"I'm sorry." Sif whispered remorsefully.

"Hmph, sorry's won't help us destroy that stupid angel." Melissa grumped. She paced in the run-down hideout with a thoughtful expression on her face. "But if you believe we can't defeat him as we are now, then what should we do?"

"Train." Silvei responded, looking blankly ahead. "It might be a good thing to increase the size of our party. After all, Ein has four others with him. We just are three, unless Sif wishes to join us in our fight."

"You've been patient with me so far, so the least I can do is help out." Sif said, nodding her head. The angel brushed back her light-blue hair and twirled Draupnir in a lazy circle.

"Okay, four people. That still spells out horrible odds for us, since they are physically stronger and more skilled than we are." The orange-haired archer grimaced, plucking at the string of her bow. "What do you say we go raid one of those outcast demon colonies?"

"Outcast demon colonies?" Sif asked curiously. "I never heard of those."

"You know how demons are basically sprites that are spiritually evil, correct?" Melissa said. "Some demons fall even below the limit that is unofficially set. Demons by nature love warfare and strife, but some delight in it, shedding as much blood as possible for the sheer joy of it. Some give in to their lust and rape any girls that they can find. These are the lowest of the low, the dregs of society. They are what we call outcast demons."

"…Let's go. This is what my mission entails and I will accomplish it to the best of my ability." Sif rose. She started for the exit when she noticed that none of the other demons had moved. "What's wrong?"

The three demons exchanged glances. Melissa looked worriedly at Jordan, who shrugged carelessly. Silvei's expression remained resolute, although one could see suspicion in her eyes. The witch stood up and walked towards Sif.

"Please…don't come with us."

"What do you mean?" Sif asked confusedly.

"You might not understand, but even though we hate them, we still are of the same race. I can't condone someone who considers killing brethren a mission of justice." Melissa sighed. "We'll be back soon. Just wait for a while."

She brushed past the angel and headed for the magic circle outside. Jordan coughed awkwardly and quickly shuffled past. Silvei walked after him, her head held high.

"But…" Sif stared after them, her mind whirling with questions. What was so bad about killing decadent demons? Didn't Melissa say that they were the lowest of the low? Shouldn't they feel happy if those demons were removed forever? Or perhaps demons had more morals than anyone gave them credit for.

'_No.'_ Sif shook her head. She had to find out for herself. The red-eyed angel decided to tail the three demons and see if they were as merciful as they pretended to be. After all, they didn't kill that sprite, Cierra, even though she was their captive. They could have killed her and Ein would have been none the wiser. Sif followed the footsteps and arrived just in time to see the three of them disappear in a flash of light.

"They never told me where they were going." Sif realized. She grimaced angrily and slammed her fist into one of the walls. "How will I follow them now? Tracing magical energies was never my strong point. I better find someone who can tell me where these demon colonies are."

_---_

"Ah…Valhalla! The realm where people eternally fight for the pleasure of the gods!" Jordan breathed thankfully. "If demons hadn't built this, nobody would! The perfect place to enjoy fighting just for the pure joy of sparring with your equals!"

"I wish you didn't sound so pleased." Melissa muttered, looking disdainfully around her. Trash littered the streets and there were numerous stains, made by food, drink, or most likely blood. Nothing in the city spoke of cleanliness. Even the coliseum itself seemed ruined and broken down. Recreant demons were scattered around, some of which wore decidedly lunatic expressions.

"Let's go. But fight your best. Mercy doesn't exist in this place." Silvei said.

"Mercy? Demons don't even know the definition of that." Jordan scoffed, leading the way towards the coliseum. "Come on, come on. My axe needs more notches on its blade."

Melissa nodded. "Perhaps we can pick up a new recruit while we're here. We never know. Sigh…Was it right of me to tell Sif off? She _was_ just trying to help."

"I don't trust that angel. She seems more involved with her own agenda instead of being concerned with ours." Silvei said. "Come on, let's go. All this talk of angels is bothering me."

_---_

"Hah hah! Nothing can stop us!" Jordan crowed as he struck down another demon. He felt no remorse as he looked at the dying demon below him. Like himself, he pledged his life to his axe and he knew that he would die fighting someday. His opponent was the exact same way. It was a sort of honor that warriors possessed.

"Stop bragging. It's only going to make our enemies angrier." Silvei reprimanded as she shot an arrow through a demon's mouth. The archer was pressed against the wall and it was all she could do to keep from being hurt. Melissa noticed her plight and sent a wall of flame shooting towards the attacking demons, incinerating them and leaving only blackened bones to clatter on the dirt.

"I knew we shouldn't have gone one more round." Melissa panted. "Holding off a force of seven is not my idea of a good time." She looked around tiredly. So far, they had done well, killing five of their attackers with only small injuries to themselves. Of course, that was added on to the other wounds that they got from the previous rounds, which did nothing for their health.

Finally, Jordan's guard slipped and the rogue was knocked backwards when a sword flashed towards his body. He tumbled to the ground, breathing heavily as blood welled through the wound in his chest. Melissa came up to help her friend, only to see the second demon pierce Silvei's side with a lance. The archer gave a cry before sinking to the ground.

'_Who should I go too?'_ Melissa thought frantically to herself. Both of her friends were hurt and she only had enough time to cast one spell. But if she didn't move fast enough, both would die. She had to make this spell count. Grimacing, she threw her staff in the air and launched a volley of fireballs at the two demons. One of the two was immediately killed, yet the second one managed to survive through the firestorm. The demon's sword flashed…

…and froze as a jagged staff interrupted its path. The demon looked up in surprise to see a red-eyed, blue-haired girl staring back at him. Sif moved her staff upwards, wrenching the sword out of the demon's grip. Grimacing angrily, Sif pointed her staff at the demon.

"No one hurts my friends." She glared, her eyes flashing. "Fimbulvetr."

The normally gray-white staff glowed a frigid sort of blue and she swung it in a full 180-degree arc. Where the staff passed through, the air froze into ice and hovered there. She continued waving her sword in an intricate pattern and soon there was a cross made out of ice, with the demon in the center. She drew the staff backwards, as if it was a sword, and the tip of the staff glinted. Sif thrust forward with her staff, piercing the demon's body and shattering the demon's body as it was turned to ice.

"…" Sif stared at the frozen pieces, which were slowly melting into water. "Might does not come from war, but from belief."

"Sif! What are you doing here?" Melissa shouted, anger coloring part of her tone. "I thought I told you to stay behind!"

"I understand." Sif nodded. She walked towards Melissa, handing a couple of small bottles to the witch. The Grim Angel clasped her hands and called her wings out. "Farewell. Thanks for letting me stay with you."

Sif flew away, leaving behind a stunned-looking Melissa. The witch took in a deep breath and released it in a sigh. She looked at the potion bottles in her hand and headed towards her friends, banishing the memory of Sif out of her mind.

* * *

Chris: Well, here you go. I'd like to give a preview of the next chapter, but I actually don't have that planned out yet. Anyway, review please and tell me what you think! Suggestions, comments, and advice are all appreciated. 


	3. Bringing Back a Friend

Chris: Uh…Yeah, this is a late update. A _really_ late update. I wonder how many of my reviewers still remember this fic. Aaaanyway, on with the story! Enjoy!

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**Chapter 3: Bringing Back a Friend**

"Ugh…My head is pounding…" Jordan groaned as his eyes flickered open. Taking in shallow, painful breaths, the rogue managed to sit up, pushing away the thin blankets that covered his body. He fully opened his eyes, wincing as sharp sunlight crashed against his eyes. "Ow…It feels like I just consumed fifty liters of applecot liquor. I didn't think that stuff was this potent…"

"Why is your head hurting, idiot? You got stabbed in the stomach." Melissa snorted as she looked over the injured rogue, a derisive look on her face as she spread a healing paste over the long scars on his body. The witch slapped him lightly on the stomach, smirking at the pained look on his face. She turned away to clean Silvei's wounds, wrapping a white, cloth bandage around the gaping wound in her side.

"…I can't believe that happened…" Silvei muttered under her breath, closing her eyes tightly. The archer let out an angry sigh, shuddering as a wave of pain flooded through her body. "So pathetic."

"Eh, you're both still alive. Stop complaining." Melissa grumbled, checking to make sure both of her partners' wounds were taken care of. Once she was done, she cheerfully wiped her hands clean using Jordan's blanket. She not-so-gently pushed the rogue back into his bed and looked around the room to find her staff.

"Hey, where's Sif?" Jordan looked around confusedly, wondering where the soft-voiced angel was.

"Um…" Melissa flushed slightly in shame. "She followed us to the arena. I got angry and yelled at her and she decided to leave. I really didn't want that to happen, though."

"What?" Jordon yelled out in surprise, sitting up on his bed despite the pain. "Impossible! Why did you do that? Sif was freaking hot and she was curved where it counted! I mean, it wasn't that she had like…giant ones, but they were perfect for her size! I could just…stare at them forever…. Unlike some flat-chested idiots I know." He snorted and looked away from the two females, both of whom punched him.

"Hey!" Silvei shouted angrily, her eyes blazing.

"I might not have the biggest breasts, but they're big enough! And Sif's weren't _that_ impressive." Melissa retorted, getting ready to cast a spell and set the rogue on fire.

"Oh?" Jordan turned back to face his leader, his eyes sparkling. "I didn't know you were paying attention to them. I guess we share something in common, huh?"

Melissa didn't say anything. The witch just held onto her staff, clutching it so tightly that you could see the veins bulge in her hand. Jordan sweatdropped and backed up on his bad, feeling an oppressive aura of fear and danger loom over him. Silvei snickered slightly, looking at the red glow that was surrounding Melissa's body. The archer winked at Melissa and turned her attention to Jordan.

"You are _so_ screwed now."

Jordan gulped. "I'm sorry, Melissa! I didn't mean any of it! Just because you like to stare at boobs doesn't mean anything!"

"**_You're dead, Jordan!_**" Melissa screamed at the top of her voice, bringing up to staff to point at Jordan's head. An enormous fireball erupted from the ruby that tipped the wooden staff and it slowly grew in size, stopping when it became around 3-feet in length. Jordan backed up again, wincing as he bumped against the back wall. With one savage flick, the fireball streaked towards Jordan.

The resulting explosion was said to have been heard all the way to Elendia.

_---_

'_What was that sound?'_ Sif thought as she heard a dim blast in the distance. The Grim Angel's eyes narrowed as she realized the explosion came in the direction of Melissa's hideout near the Nelde Ruins. She partially wished that she was like Ledah at the moment. She didn't want to admit it, but being told off by Melissa hurt. She still couldn't get the sight of Melissa's angry face out of her mind. _'I was just trying to help…'_

But in the long run, whether or not Melissa treated her as a friend didn't matter. At the moment, she had to figure out what kind of ploy Hector was plotting. From what she could tell, not only was she lied to, but the other Grim Angels were being deceived as well. Not only was Ein here, but from what she could tell, Ledah was on the continent too, also following Hector's orders. Sif allowed herself a moment of pride as she realized that in the hierarchy of Grim Angels, she was above Ein and Ledah, since she was a Grim Angel before the other two had even gotten christened by the gods.

'_Of course,'_ Sif thought in a moment of self-reflection, _'I'm probably not as strong as them now. Ein has his friends and Ledah has pure motivation guiding him. I, on the other hand, have nothing.'_

"**Waaaaaaaaah!"**

"Huh?" Sif looked up and jumped back in surprise as a burning…thing crashed down right where she was standing before. After she got over her initial shock, Sif slowly crept towards the burn-encrusted thing. From what she could tell, it was a person and miraculously, this person was still alive. The charred figure beneath her let out a racking cough and looked up, eyes widening as he saw Sif. Scrambling on his feet, the mysterious person grabbed Sif's hands and let out a cheery laugh, dancing all around. "Umm…Uh…Do I know you?"

"Sif! You don't recognize me?" The person sounded shocked.

"Um…No?" Sif smiled weakly, trying to see if she could discern anything about this guy.

"Oh, probably because Melissa blasted me halfway across the continent. Hmm, let me clean myself up a bit." With a little bit of rubbing, the man somehow managed to wipe off all the ash from his body, revealing a young-looking rogue who somehow managed to keep his clothes intact, even though it seemed he had been hit by a high-intensity fireball. "I'm Jordan! Remember? You helped me out!"

"O-Oh!" Sif let out a half-nervous, half-embarrassed laugh, folding her hands behind her back and trying not to look too awkward. A slight blush rose to her cheeks and she averted her blood-red eyes. "That was no problem, really. How…How are the rest of your friends doing?"

Jordan shrugged and waved away her question. "Silvei's just fine and considering Melissa just blasted me all the way here, I think she's doing just dandy. She did kinda get embarrassed when I asked why you weren't there…Speaking of which, why did you leave?"

"I…don't know." Sif looked down, her blush growing deeper. There really wasn't any reason as to why she had left, but she did. Was it because she just felt guilty? "I just…didn't like seeing Melissa angry at me. She _did_ tell me to stay behind. And I betrayed her trust."

"That isn't any reason to leave, though!" Jordan protested. "Besides, Melissa feels bad about it. I could tell. She never puts in that much power in her magic unless she's feeling guilty about something."

"I can't." Sif muttered, inwardly feeling a small glow of happiness at Jordan's statement. She looked apologetically at the downcast rogue. "I…want to."

"Then why don't you? Oh, don't tell me it's because of that stupid Hector guy." Jordan scoffed. "We demons don't let stupid orders from stupid people control us. Come on, don't always be constrained by role! Have some fun! I know _I'll_ enjoy the change!"

"Sorry." Sif replied one last time, calling out her wings from her back. She slowly floated up into the air, her face resolute. "I'm not a demon. I'm a Grim Angel and this is my duty. Tell Melissa I'm sorry."

With one last shake of her head, Sif rose into the air, soft, black feathers falling off her wings. She slowly drifted out of Jordan's sight, her light-blue hair flowing behind her in a cascading wave. The rogue kicked the dirt angrily, kneeling down to pick up one of the feathers. He twirled it in his fingers, marveling at how soft the tiny hairs felt. Gathering up the rest of the fallen feathers, he tucked them in a pouch. That was when he realized something very important.

"…How am I supposed to get back? I'm freaking _twenty_ damn miles away from the hideout! Don't tell me I'm going to have to _walk_ all the way back! Arg!" Jordan began his slow trek all the way back to the Nelde Ruins, groaning as he resigned himself for the long, long, _loooooong_ journey ahead.

_---_

"So this is Elendia…" Sif breathed to herself, looking in awe at the peaceful haven beneath her. All the greenery was becoming slightly overwhelming, actually. In Asgard, it was rare to actually see this many trees in one spot. Sure, there were small spots where you could cuddle among the trees, but those were rare and far-flung. Sif could distantly hear the laughter of some young girls and she instinctively flew over to the spot. _'They're so cheerful here…As if fear can't even pierce the aura of peace the covers this land.'_

As she flew towards the sounds of laughter, she looked beneath her and stopped in her flight, stunned. Ein was beneath her, looking up secretly over a rock and staring at…girls bathing? Sif quickly alighted behind him and withdrew her wings, amazed at the normally courteous Grim Angel was a peeping tom. He was so engrossed in the sight that he didn't even notice her behind him. Hoping to surprise him, she cleared her throat loudly and poked Ein on the back.

"!" Ein leaped in surprise, ruining his cover and alerting the girls that were currently bathing. You know, those girls that he was peeking at. Silly Ein.

"Ah, Ein! Don't look!" A young, green-haired girl whom Sif recognized as Fia, flushed in embarrassment, spinning around and trying to cover her chest with her arms. "What are you doing here?"

Another girl, this one with medium-length orange hair, stuck out her tongue at Ein and covered her chest, her face becoming a dangerous color of red. "Ein's a pervert!"

"Ah…Uh…I'm sorry! It-It was a mistake!" Ein turned away in a mixture of shame and embarrassment, unable to believe that he actually did such a thing. That was when he noticed his fellow Grim Angel standing in front of him, a soft, amused smile on her face. "Sif!"

"Hello Ein." Sif said, motioning to the other girl's with her head. "You never did anything like this in Asgard."

"Well, I…Be quiet, Rose. That was _not_ what happened." Ein shot a brief glare at his feline familiar, who just purred and stretched languidly. "A-And why are you here, Sif?"

Sif's expression turned serious again. "I need to talk to you about Hector."

"Well, okay…" Ein looked nervous, feeling stares from behind him but too afraid to look. He motioned to a small clearing that was out of the sight of the bathing pool. Once the two were out of the area (and out of the furious glares shot at them by Fia and Lina), Ein looked at Sif quizzically. "What do you want to talk about?"

"Don't you find it suspicious that Hector would lie to us?" Sif asked, wondering about Ein's calm attitude about the fact that they had all been betrayed. "Is there something that you know?"

"I don't know." Ein shrugged, looking plainly at Sif. "I just know that my mission it to help protect Riviera by defeating the demons that are causing all these problems. If I can just defeat the Accursed, then demons will stop appearing."

"Do you believe that?" Sif asked confusedly. She couldn't believe that Ein would believe something as loose as that. He must have of had more evidence that he was right or else he wouldn't sound so confident.

"Yes." Ein nodded once. "Why don't you join me, Sif? We could use another Angel with us."

Sif toyed with the idea of traveling with Ein. It would be interesting, to say the least. And she hadn't spent time with another Grim Angel in such a long time…It would be a welcome change. She also remembered the jealous looks that Lina and Fia had shot at her when she left to talk with Ein. The small, wicked part of her soul wanted her to join so she could just spite the two girls. And yet, for some reason, the rest of her didn't want to join Ein. It wasn't that she didn't like him. He was friendly enough, with a clueless sort of charm. But there was something else holding her back. Namely three demons that she somehow befriended.

Sif looked down and shook her head ruefully, a sad smile appearing on her lips. "I'm sorry. But…uh, I don't think it would be in your friends' best interests if I were to stick around more."

"Huh?" Ein tilted his head to the side, confused. "What are you talking about?"

Sif laughed. "Nothing. Farewell, Ein. We'll meet again, I'm sure of it."

Kissing her finger, Sif planted it on top of Ein's lips. Smirking slightly at Ein's stunned expression, she called her wings to her back and flew away, waving briefly as she floated above the calm haven of Elendia. When she was out of sight, Lina and Fia rushed up to Ein, both of them clothed.

"Is your friend gone?" Fia asked, looking in the sky for some glimpse of the Grim Angel.

"Yeah…" Ein said. "But we might see her again."

_---_

"So is she coming back or what?" Melissa shouted at a cowering Jordan, her eyes blazing angrily. The sight reminded the rogue uncomfortably of the last time she got this angry, which had resulted him being blasted halfway across the continent. He backed away a bit, a weak smile on his face.

"Uh…I-I don't know?" Jordan said shakily, holding his hands up palms forward in a gesture of peace. "Please don't hurt me?"

"Grrr, I won't hurt you." The flame in Melissa's eyes disappeared and the witch turned away from Jordan, looking disgusted.

"Why do you care so much?" Silvei muttered from her position on the ground, carving rough arrows from a couple of branches she had found. "I'm grateful that she saved us, but she's been sent her to _kill_ us. That doesn't make lasting relationships."

"I happen to know that. As I recall, the only reason why you're here is because you attacked me and I beat you, right?" Melissa returned with a snicker. "I can still remember the outraged look on your face."

"Ah…Right." Silvei blushed and went silent. The archer ignored Jordan's smirk and went back to crafting her arrows, putting all her focus into the slightest detail.

"Does that mean I'm the only person who's joined willingly?" Jordan asked quizzically.

"_Willingly?_" Melissa asked in disbelief, barking out a laugh. "I had to _pay_ you in order for you to join me."

"Hey, I was willing. That's what's on topic here." Jordan retorted. "Anyway, you didn't answer the last question. Why do you care so much?"

"Uh…I don't know, actually." Melissa looked thoughtful. "Maybe because she's a friend who helped us?"

"That you made leave because you kept shouting at her…" The rogue muttered under his breath, placing his arms behind his head as he lay down on the ground. He slowly closed his eyes, getting ready for a small nap. Melissa, once again, heard him. However, this time, her reaction was different.

"I said I was sorry about that!" Melissa cried out, her voice filled regret. "I don't know why I yelled at her, okay? If she would just come back, I could apologize, but she isn't! I wish she was back too, okay?"

"You miss me that much?" A soft, familiar voice said from the sky. Melissa looked up and gasped in surprise.

"Sif! I…I thought that you left! I'm really sorry for yelling at you earlier, really." Melissa said quickly, worried that the Grim Angel might leave again. However, her worries were dispelled when Sif alighted next to the witch and gave her a brief hug.

"That's okay. I should have realized that you would all still be wary of me." Sif released Melissa and looked at the other two demons. "But please, you must trust me. My mission is different now. I plan to find out what exactly is going on here and hopefully stop it."

"No demon killing with that crazy staff thing of yours?" Jordan asked hopefully, his eyes popping open hopefully. "And you're staying? Oh boy, this is great!"

"…Tch, welcome." Silvei grumbled, nodding once in Sif's direction. "Jordan, stop acting like the moron you are."

"Then welcome back, Sif!" Melissa said happily. "Um…But how are we supposed to do what you want?"

"There've been rumors about a girl who's been killing Sprites and harvesting their souls. I think it might be another Grim Angel who's following Hector's orders. The last that was heard of her was near Valhalla." Sif said seriously, her blood-red eyes narrowed in concentration.

"Valhalla? The arena? But…there are no Sprites living near Valhalla." Melissa said, slightly worried. "We'd better go, just in case. By the way, Sif, if we ever find Ein again, please don't stop me from fighting. I plan on getting my revenge no matter how strong he is."

"…But…you might die." Sif said, a pleading note in her voice.

"I'm a demon. We are created to cause havoc. What better way to die than in a fight?" The witch shrugged once. "Come on, we're going to Valhalla. It's time to see what the hell is going on here."

Melissa walked towards the magic circle, motioning for the others to follow her. Jordan was up first, shooting an apologetic look at Sif before running after his leader. Silvei ignored the Grim Angel, simply following after Melissa. Sif watched them all before heaving a sigh and walking after them.

'_But…I don't want you to die, Melissa. Why do you…Why do all demons rush towards their final sleep?'_

_

* * *

_

Chris: Ahem, I hope this chapter was enough to make up for the extremely long update time. It probably isn't, but you never know. Anyway, hopefully the story'll be speeding up a bit now that the plot has been partially established and stuff. Thanks for reading and please leave a review to tell me what you think and if there are any ways I can improve on the story! Thanks a lot!


	4. A Look in the Dark

Chris: Well, finally finished this chapter (I started it like…2 weeks ago). Aaaanyway, hope you enjoy and stuff! Here comes Melissa's first "Chapter", you could say. Incidentally, this story happens when Ein and Co. are in Tetyth. Thanks to all who reviewed and I'm glad you enjoy the story so far.

Note: By the way, thanks to Freedom Kira for pointing out a glaring plothole that I must attend to. After I finish some stuff. Since it's not really a plothole, but a mistake…that I could fix. And you would see nice page break lines, but then Quick Edit isn't working. Silly Quick Edit.

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**Chapter 4: A Look into the Dark**

_Valhalla. A demonic city located near the peaceful haven of Elendia. If there was anything you could say about it, it would be that you would never lack for a fight in the city. With over half of the land occupied by a gigantic arena, it would be easy to say that only the most ferocious fighters ever make a living inside the vicious metropolis. _

_With rumors that a village of sprites near the outskirts of the city have been under attack by a mysterious, winged girl, Melissa, Sif, Jordan, and Silvei journey towards the small hamlet, each with their own questions. First, why would Sprites even live in such a hazardous area? And secondly, who was this girl? Was she a Grim Angel like Sif? Or perhaps something more sinister?_

_---_

The four travelers found themselves on top of a grassy hill, the blue sky above them and the village sitting directly in front of them. Jordan, amazingly enough, was the first one to utter his thoughts about what he saw.

"…I don't believe I have ever seen something so…wrong in my whole life. And trust me, as a demon, I've seen a lot of things that shouldn't have happened." Jordan stared at the small hamlet in front of his, shaking his head in disbelief. The rogue shuddered and turned away, unable to look anymore. "A village of demons…that lives peacefully? Is that even possible? Why aren't they doing anything constructive, like pillaging some local market or something?"

"Don't ask me." Silvei replied, staring at the village in front of them. The sniper folded her arms and smiled slightly. "It's no surprise people thought that these were Sprites. I would think they were Sprites myself if it weren't for the telltale aura that immediately identifies them. So a small handful of demons have actually become peaceful and have formed their own village."

"It's…pretty." Sif whispered, mostly to herself. The sight in front of her raised her hopes that not all demons were kill-crazy murderers whose only thoughts rested on money and blood. She could only hope that her friends would learn from this example. Although, from looking at Jordan's depressed expression, it wouldn't happen any time soon. _'…Please, gods, let both demons and sprites live in peace.'_

"It doesn't matter how it looks or who lives there. Come on, we've heard that Sprites have been killed around here and I intend to find out why." Melissa looked back at her comrades. With a confident smile, she pointed towards the village. "Standing around isn't going to help us. And if you keep moaning, Jordan, you're going to fly so far they'll hear you in Asgard."

"Eep!" Jordan let out a short squeak and immediately put a hand over his mouth, looking scared.

Melissa, confident that everything would be nice and quiet, turned to walk towards the village. She barely had time to react when suddenly a young vampire appeared in front of her and smiled girlishly at her. The witch was suddenly taken off-guard when the mysterious girl leaned forward and kissed her smack dab on the lips. Melissa managed to get over her shock in a couple of seconds and she staggered backwards, falling onto the grass. She looked frantically at the others, hoping they could offer some reasonable explanation as to what had happened. She was doomed to be disappointed.

Jordan was currently on his knees, a hand over his nose and mouth. Small droplets of drool leaked out from the gaps between his fingers and he looked like he had just seen the greatest wonder in the world. Silvei wasn't in much better condition. She just stared at the vampire, gaping in surprise. Her bow had slipped from her hands and was now nestled in the grass, all but forgotten. Only Sif appeared to be in a relatively normal condition, her arms folded across her chest. The Grim Angel was shooting a strange look at the vampire, something that combined disapproval, shock, and just a slight bit of jealousy into one.

"You're cute." The vampire smiled, showing off two white fangs in a happy smile.

'_This…This girl just kissed me and that's all she can say?'_ Melissa screamed mentally. She opened her mouth to say something, only to be cut off as the vampire kissed her again. _'What is going on here? Somebody tell me!'_

"You're really cute." The young girl jumped back and smiled again, bending over to look at the astonished expression on Melissa's face. She put a finger to her lips, looking slightly confused. "You didn't like my kiss? That's mean."

Melissa finally recovered her voice and she scrambled backwards from the vampire. "Y-You _kissed _me! I'm a girl! You…You don't do those sorts of things!"

"Why not?" The vampire cocked her head to the side innocently. "My mom always told me that it was okay."

"Urgh…" Melissa groaned under her breath, unable to believe what she was hearing. She decided to take out her stress on the others. "What the hell were you guys doing? Couldn't you have stopped her or anything?"

"Huh? Oh, sorry." Silvei snapped out of her stunned state. "Well, it's just that…I never…oh you know."

"…It's not fair…She kisses you, but not me. There isn't anything wrong with two girls kissing, in fact that's really hot, but…I wish I got some of that action." Jordan muttered, wiping his mouth free of saliva. He looked up, only to see the vampire girl standing in front of him. "Uh…"

"You want a kiss too?" She asked cheerfully. "Okay."

And with that, she promptly kissed Jordan on the mouth. The rogue experienced ecstasy for around five seconds before Melissa's staff connected with the side of his head and launched him around fifty feet away. With one of the idiots taken care of, Melissa turned her attention to the last one.

"What the hell are you doing? And who _are_ you?" Melissa shouted, pointing her staff at the young vampire.

"Huh? Me? I'm Melanie." She grinned and flapped her wings slowly to hover in the air. "I was just greeting our guests. I'm the mayor's daughter and it's my duty to say hello to anyone coming here."

"What a kiss?" Melissa said skeptically.

"Uh…" Melanie blushed slightly and she rubbed the back of her head. "Well, not really. I'm actually not supposed to be here because some of the villagers have been attacked recently. But you all looked so cute so I had to come see you. And I was bored at home anyway."

Melissa just groaned and shook her head. _'What else is going to go wrong?'_

"Can we keep her, Melissa?" Jordan asked, down on his knees. "After we're done with this, let's bring her back to the hideout! She'd enjoy the change in scenery!"

"Leave her alone. You just want her around so you can get her to kiss you again. Come on, we're going down to check things out." Silvei grabbed the rogue by the ear and began dragging him down the hill, ignoring his pitiful cries of pain and agony. As the two of them slowly disappeared, Melissa heard Jordan give a shout of pain as Silvei's foot landed in his stomach.

"Excuse me, but you said something about the villagers being attacked?" Sif stepped forward, deciding to let her presence be known. The Grim Angel stared solemnly at the vampire, staring disapprovingly at her revealing blouse and short skirt. Melanie turned her attention to Sif and nodded.

"Yeah, a couple of days ago, a couple of people were killed sometime during the day. The crazy part is that nobody knows who did it." Melanie shuddered. "It's really scary. I can use a weapon, but truthfully I'm not that good. I just hope I don't meet the murderer."

"I see…" Sif sighed and looked down at the grass, wondering who the killer could be. She had no idea who it could be. It might have been one of those insane demons from Valhalla or it could have been something else altogether. Sif was never fond of having to guess, so she didn't bother guessing right now. The only thing to do was find out first-hand. "Come on, Melissa. Let's go look around."

"Okay, but let's find the others first." Melissa said, already beginning to walk towards the village. Sif stayed behind for a couple of moments, looking at Melanie suspiciously.

"Is there something wrong?" Melanie asked.

"No…Nothing wrong." Sif shook her head and followed after Melissa, running to catch up with her friend. _'…Something feels wrong here. I can't pinpoint it…But I'll protect my friends.'_

Melanie watched them leave, her innocent smile turning slipping from her face. The sound of flapping wings erupted from behind her and the vampire turned around, feeling her heart skip a beat. "M-Malice. I-I told them what you wanted me to say."

"Good. You get to keep your soul a little bit longer." Malice grinned wickedly, running her fingers across the sharp, cool-blue edge of her Diviner, Skadi. She let out a low chuckle, envisioning herself presenting the souls to her master. She sent a sharp glare in Melanie's way. "Get out now before I rethink my decision to let you live."

"Y-Yes!" Melanie quickly flew away, her twin braids flying behind her as she left the area as fast as she could. Malice watched her leave and shrugged.

"I'll kill her after I'm done with this bunch of fools. She's lived long enough and my master needs more souls. I'm sure she'd be happy to help." Malice laughed to herself before calling her wings. With a flurry of black feathers, she flew towards the village, intent on claiming four more souls for her master.

_---_

"Arg, stop pulling my ear! We're already in the village!" Jordan squeaked out in pain, trying to dislodge himself from Silvei's grip. The sniper was relentless though and only tightened her grip on Jordan's reddening ear. She looked up to see Melissa and Sif running towards them and she waved at them.

"I see you two are still fine." Melissa said. The witch looked around the village, slightly impressed that demons were actually able to build a working community without killing each other first. She was also slightly envious, but that feeling was quickly squashed. She turned and faced Sif. "Hey, you've been acting weird. Is something wrong?"

"Oh, it's nothing." Sif mumbled, looking distracted. As it was, her blatant lie fooled no one and Melissa walked up to her, looking concerned. The witch tapped her on the head with her staff, snorting when Sif jumped back, surprised. "What was that for?"

"Stupid. I thought angels shouldn't lie." Melissa shook her head. "Now spill it. Something's bothering you."

"Well, okay. I'm…sensing someone that seems like a Grim Angel. Except that it isn't exactly the right feel. I know how a Grim Angel should feel like. But this one is slightly twisted, distorted." Sif explained. "I know that somebody from Asgard is here, though. That much I can identify. As for anything else…"

"You can sense other people from Asgard?" Melissa asked, her interest piqued. "So how does this work? Like, is it a buzz in your mind or what?"

"I can't explain it that well. I just feel their presence. I just know it. There isn't much else, really." Sif said apologetically. "Sorry for disappointing you."

"It's not a problem." Melissa hurriedly said. "So…you just feel it. Interesting. I've read some books on the aspect of sensing other beings, but I've never seen anyone who could actually do it. You're amazing, Sif."

Sif blushed from pleasure and turned away, feeling an incredible wave of shyness wash over her. "T-Thanks."

"Hmm…Let's see if we can find any hints as to whose been killing all these demons. Well, _technically_ demons. Sheesh, these people are nothing like demons at all." Melissa grumbled as she walked down the well-kept paved road, barely restraining her disgust from rising to her face. "Still, they are our brethren, so I guess we should help them. I'm surprised that they aren't more worried about the problem, though."

"Probably too scared to do anything about it." Jordan said from his position on the ground. Silvei was still dragging him by his ear, but he had already lost all feeling in that side of his head a couple of minutes ago, so he didn't care that much anymore. "Anyway, what're we going to do now?"

"Just find the kill-" Melissa began, but Sif stopped her. Putting a finger to her lips to warn everyone to be silent, Sif slowly withdrew her Diviner, the gray-white metal pulsing with energy. Suddenly, with a quick push, Sif shoved Melissa away just as a giant three-bladed axe crashed into the ground.

"Tch, you got lucky." Their attacker, a girl with long, blond hair, spat at the ground and brought her weapon back into position, pointing the axe at Melissa. "Give up your souls!"

Now that something exciting had happened, Jordan finally went into action, the careless and goofy face he had been wearing earlier turning into an iron-hard mask of concentration and eagerness. He swiftly flipped his axe out of his belt and pointed it at their attack, smirking. "Forget it! I like my soul right where it is!"

"I wasn't talking to you, you pathetic demon. You're not even worth my time." The girl spat, not bothering to even look at the rogue. Jordan growled angrily and charged at her, bringing his axe in a wide, diagonal swing that would have cleaved right through the girl if her weapon hadn't suddenly flashed in front of him, shattering his axe into thousands of pieces and flinging him against one of the buildings.

Silvei was immediately at the rogue's side, inspecting the deep wound that ran across his chest and one of his arms. Muttering small curses under her breath, she quickly pulled out a thick roll of bandages and some salve, wishing that she wasn't that one that had to tend to all the injuries. She would've rather shot that girl full of arrows as revenge. However, her revenge was already being taken care of.

Melissa's eyes flashed as she saw Jordan being knocked away. Raising her staff, the ruby glowed a bright red before a flurry of fireballs erupted from the jewel and flew towards the mysterious girl, threatening to incinerate her in the blaze. However, the girl just swung her weapon once and all the fireballs dissolved into thin air. She immediately went to attack Melissa, moving almost as fast as the wind as she appeared in front of the witch, swinging her axe in a wide arc. Melissa staggered backwards, managing to deflect most of the blow with her staff.

'_It's a good thing I had this magically reinforced.'_ Melissa thought to herself as she saw the girl's weapon rebound off of her staff. Still, it was of no reassurance, since there was no way that she would be able to keep up with the swift attacker. Even now she was already starting to fall behind, just barely managing to block the last blow.

"You're mine!" The blond-haired girl said with a fierce look of glee as she skillfully disarmed Melissa with a quick turn of her axe. The witch barely had time to gasp before the axe pierced her side, only luck saving her from being killed in one blow. She stood over Melissa, raising her three-pronged axe with glee. "It's time for you all to die! Blue Sophia!"

"Fimbulvetr!"

"_WHAT?_" The girl hissed, spinning around to see Sif holding her Diviner out in front of her. She spat angrily and rushed at the Grim Angel, swinging her weapon in a furious circle. "Perish!"

Sif didn't reply, simply glaring at her while she brought her Diviner around to counter her attack. The two weapons clashed and suddenly an otherworldy wail erupted from between them. A bright flash erupted from the collision and when the brightness dissipated, both Sif and their mysterious attack were lying on the ground, their weapons lodged firmly into the cobblestones.

"Another…Diviner?" The girl whispered, struggling up to her feet. She staggered backwards slightly, her eyes narrowed with pain and hatred. "Why do you keep getting in my way? I'll take care of you before you cause any more trouble!"

In a quick move, she wrenched her axe from the rocks. She stalked towards the fallen Sif, an expression of manic glee on her face. Sif watched her approach, her legs feeling too weak to be able to stand. But just because her legs were weak wouldn't mean that she couldn't escape. She just had to trick this girl…this Grim Angel, she realized. As the axe came slashing towards her body, Sif quickly called her wings and she flew just out of range, pulling Draupnir from the ground. The light-blue haired girl hovered above her attacker, trying to place a name with that face. Before she could, black-feathered angel wings erupted from the girl's back and they began a mid-air fight, dancing across the sky.

"Ugh…Sif." Melissa groaned, trying to get up so she would be able to assist her friend. She only managed to managed to get to her knees, though, and she could feel her strength dwindling. Her blood slowly dripped out from the wound at her side, the fabric already soaked through with red. Gritting her teeth, she tried to stand, only to let out a harsh cry as pain flooded her nerves.

"Sheesh, you two always get into trouble." Silvei muttered, rushing to her side and quickly wrapping bandages around the area where the girl's axe had pierced Melissa's body. "I'm surprised you're still alive. Not like that's bad though."

"How's…Jordan?" Melissa gasped out, wincing as the archer tightened the bandages.

"You care about that idiot? He's fine. I knocked him out so he could get some sleep. Stupid moron wanted to go back to the fight. When I asked him what he would use, he just motioned with his fists." Silvei shook her head angrily.

"Can't you help Sif?" Melissa asked. Silvei gave a start and stared at the witch, disbelief written on her face. "Come on, Silvei. You've got to trust her. She isn't going to try to kill you, trust me."

"Fine, but it's not that. If you haven't seen, those two angels move so fast, I have around the same chance of hurting Sif than helping her. If I could fly, then it would be less of a problem, but from the ground, I can do nothing." Silvei explained, squinting at the air battle.

"Can I help?" Melanie's cheerful voice filtered through the chaos above them and in an instant, the young vampire was at Silvei's side, showing off a big, fanged smile. "I've talked to the other villagers and they're all tired of living in fear. We're going to be chasing Malice out of our village once and for all."

"Now there's the demon spirit." Melissa smiled tiredly. "Okay, but you'll have to carry Silvei. I'm too weak to do anything at the moment."

"Is that okay with you?" Melanie turned to the archer, still smiling. She jumped up and down, obviously full of energy and definitely willing to give her best. Silvei just sighed and nodded, untying her bow from her back. She shot a short glare at the young girl.

"You better not drop me." Silvei grimaced. "If you do, I swear I'll come back as a ghost and haunt you till the end of your days."

"Don't worry." Melanie replied, still smiling. She motioned to her wings and leaned down slightly. "Come on, let me carry you."

Silvei shuddered once before gingerly wrapping her arms around Melanie's stomach, feeling the vampire's leathery wings brushing against her face and chest. She shuddered again and closed her eyes, muttering to quick prayer. Melanie brought her arms back to grip Silvei by the top of her legs and turned her head.

"Are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah. Just go. Please." Silvei replied rapidly, already wishing that she had never suggested shooting arrows from the sky. She let out a terrified squeak as Melanie started lifting off of the ground, her bow clutched tightly in her shaking hands. _'Oh man, I never thought I'd be scared of flying…Just calm down…calm down.'_

The two of them slowly rose up to Sif's level, Silvei somehow managing to grab an arrow. She notched it against her bow, sighting along the wooden shaft to where Malice's wings would be. Waiting for a couple of seconds to make sure she got the shot absolutely perfect, Silvei released the arrow. It flew through the air and struck Malice right in the back, in the middle of where her wings were sprouting. The Grim Angel let out a shout, more from surprise than pain, and quickly spun around from reflex.

"You!" She yelled angrily, pointing at Melanie. "You'll pay for betraying me!"

"I never served you. Besides, these guys are just so much cuter than you are." Melanie replied with a smile and a wink. "Look behind you."

"What?" Malice whirled around to see Sif hovering there, a victorious smile on her face. Before she could react, Draupnir ripped through her, creating a nasty wound right across the stomach. Malice screamed and flew backwards, flying away from Sif.

"I'll be back! You might have defeated me now, but it won't last!" Malice shouted as she quickly departed. Sif breathed a sigh and floated to the ground, her wings gradually shrinking until she set foot onto the cobblestone road. She rushed to Melissa's side, looking worriedly at the bandages covering her wound.

"Sif…Help me stand." Melissa said, holding out a hand towards her. Sif nodded and propped the injured witch's arm over her shoulder, supporting her. Melissa staggered towards Melanie, who was wearing a happy smile as she waved towards a small mob of demons that were walking towards them. "Thanks for helping us."

"It was my pleasure! It was all I could do, really, since…" Melanie looked away, flushing slightly in shame. "Well, I was the one who lured you here."

"Huh? What do you mean by that?" Melissa's eyes narrowed. "Do you mean everything that happened here was because of _you_?"

"Of course not! You're the people who came over here to investigate the murders. I pushed you in the right direction, that's all." Melanie nodded vigorously.

"For some reason, I don't think that's tr-" Before Melissa could finish her sentence, Melanie had planted another kiss on her lips.

"Have I mentioned that you're really cute?" The young vampire smiled impishly.

"Stop doing that!" Melissa shouted. Melanie only shook her head adamantly, that cheerful smile still present on her face. For some reason, Melissa found the sight so amusing that she couldn't help but laugh. Melanie's voice quickly joined hers and soon Sif was laughing too. It felt good to laugh.

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Chris: Ahem, anyway, hope you enjoyed reading this chapter! I'm planning to make Melanie a regular member of Melissa's gang, so I hope you guys like her. Actually, I don't know if you do, but then I like her so it's all good. She's mainly there to be a counter-balance to Serene and also for some more comedic humor. She'll be fleshed out a lot more, though, so don't worry 'bout that.

Anyway, to clear up a few things if you have questions 'bout them. First of all, Malice is here...because she's harvesting souls and she's pretty much taken all the Arcs. Those of you who have completed the game already know what's gonna happen.

Second of all, the reason Sif and Malice don't recognize each other is similar to the reason Malice doesn't recognize Ein in the…castle place. And besides, Malice isn't a real Grim Angel, so she probably wouldn't be attending to the gods anyway.

Third of all, I used Blue Sophia instead of Trie because at this moment in time, Ein's storyline is closer to the castle area, where Malice used Blue Sophia to trigger the explosion. Which leads to the next thing.

And finally, I put the collision of the two Diviners explosion there because it happened with Ein's weapon in that same castle place. I could be mistaken, however, since Einherjar was locked in that area, which might have caused the flash.

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it! Drop a review please and suggestions/comments are always appreciated!


	5. A Little Knowledge…

Chris: Well, I finally finished the next chapter. Amazing, ain't it? Anyway, just as a note for you. While the shoujo-ai pairing will be the main focus, there is a heterosexual pairing, namely one involving Jordan. Because, you know, Jordan is funny.

Disclaimer: I don't, in fact, own the copyrights to Riviera.

* * *

**Chapter 5: A Little Knowledge…**

"Umm…Melissa? I…uh…have to tell you something." Sif walked up to the witch, who looked up irritably from her studying. Melissa shut her magic tome and slammed it on the wooden table.

"What is it? Please don't tell me it's something stupid, because I swear on the lives of my ancestors that I will destroy whoever is causing me this distraction." Melissa snapped, grabbing her staff from where it lay on the floor. She looked up at Sif and tapped her foot impatiently, studying the Grim Angel's face. Sif flushed slightly, but steeled her nerves and looked Melissa straight in the eyes.

"Jordan decided it would be a hot idea to go shopping and took the rest of our money to buy things. And…he promptly lost it at gambling. He also…uh…gambled away some of your spell books." Sif said, preparing herself for the blast of anger that she was certain would erupt from the female magician. Melissa sighed and removed her magician's hat, scratching her hair. Sif leaned forward a bit, since this was a reaction that wasn't expected at all.

"God dammit, Jordan!" Melissa screamed and pointed the tip of her staff towards the sky. Yelling out a word of magic, the crystal that topped the staff glowed a fierce red. Suddenly, the portion of the roof that covered Melissa's room exploded in a shower of fiery sparks. Panting in anger, Melissa stalked out of her room and towards the common room in the small hideout that they shared. At the sight of the fiery aura of anger that surrounded her body, Silvei immediately left the room, dragging a protesting Melanie along with her.

"What's going on, Silvi?" Melanie asked, struggling against the archer's grip. "I can walk by myself! And what's wrong with Melissa?"

"Too many questions!" Silvei shot off rapidly. "And my name is Silvei, not Silvi!"

"Silvi!" Melanie responded petulantly, pouting as the archer continued to pull her into a more secure area of the hideout. The young vampire finally managed to squirm out of Silvei's grasp and she folded her arms angrily, sticking her tongue out at the tall archer. "So what happened?"

"Melissa is angry." Silvei shuddered. "And I mean _very_ angry. I haven't seen anything like this since the day she found Jordan peeking at her when she was taking a shower. Trust me, it is not a good idea to be anywhere near her right now."

"Ohhhh…" Melanie nodded. "Thanks for telling me, Silvi!"

"My name is Silvei!"

_---_

"Melissa!" Sif chased after the furious witch, who was busy venting her anger by launching fireballs at the scraggly trees that surrounded their hideout. Someone with the gift of foresight had made the trees inflammable, so while the trees didn't explode in a beautiful array of fire, it still helped Melissa burn off her rage. Sif grabbed Melissa's hand tightly, trying to get her to stop. "Calm down! Please! Nothing good will come out of you killing Jordan!"

"Yes there is! I'll feel a _lot_ better!" Melissa retorted, her mouth split into a feral grin. She scanned the trees, seeing if she could spot the rogue hiding within the leaves. "Oh Jordan…I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to give you a present…like these fireballs up your ass!"

Sif winced as two new explosions rocked the once peaceful ruins. She worriedly pulled on a strand of her long, sea-colored hair and continued following Melissa, thinking of some way to stop her rampage. From what she knew of Melissa, though, the only way she would succeed is if she brought out Jordan and let Melissa fry him into ashes. "Um…Melissa? Maybe you should come inside. Jordan hid already."

"Oh, I'll find him. I'll find him." Melissa cackled insanely and tossed another pair of fireballs at the trees. "He can't hide from me forever."

"But Melissa, you've barely recovered from your injuries! You might overexert yourself!" Sif shouted worriedly, silently summoning Draupnir into her hands. If she couldn't convince Melissa to stop through words, then she would just have to knock her out until Melissa came to her senses.

"I'm fine!" Melissa groaned. "Demons recover easily from stuff like that, I swear. Now please stop disturbing me. I've got a rogue to kill."

"…You leave me no choice." Sif brought her Draupnir up and sent it crashing down on the witch's head. Melissa crumpled without a word and Sif felt a pang of guilt and fear rush through her body. Running over to make sure she didn't hit Melissa too hard, she examined the pulse and felt relieved as she found out that Melissa was just unconscious. "It's for your own good."

"Phew, thanks Sif! I always knew I could count on you!" Jordan leaped down from one of the trees and landed next to the Grim Angel, smiling gratefully. He brushed leaves from his pants and hugged Sif tightly. "Oh man, if she had found me…Well, I wouldn't be standing here right now!"

Sif wasn't amused. "Jordan, why did you do that? You _knew _that Melissa would kill you if you gambled away her things. You're just lucky she didn't ask me where you were, because I certainly would have told her."

"And I owe you quite a bit! But actually, I just wanted to razz her a bit, get her pumped up! Besides, she seemed kinda depressed after our encounter with that other girl…Malice, was it? Grim Angel, right?" Jordan looked at Sif, his head cocked to the side.

Sif looked down, a small frown coming across her face. "Yes…She seemed to be from Asgard. But there was something strange…something corrupting about her. I can't explain it well."

"Then don't explain it! And cheer up! We beat her, didn't we?" The rogue slapped Sif on the back gently. "Anyway, I didn't actually lose any of her spell books. In fact, I won a couple of new ones! And something that's even better for Melissa's spirits! I found out where Ein will be heading next! Good work, I know. Seems they're heading for a place called Mireno Cemetery. We can confront them there!"

Sif blanched slightly. One thing that she wasn't hoping for was another encounter with Ein. If their objectives crossed, she might have to fight a fellow Grim Angel. Sif desperately hoped that they would somehow pass Ein's group. Still, if she mentioned that, not only would the demons not trust her as much, but she knew that Melissa would be disappointed in her. "U-Uh…That's great…!"

"I know! Aren't I great?" Jordan said, his ego swelling like an overripe applecot. He looked down at Melissa's body, slightly afraid that she would wake up before he could explain his trick to her. "You want to get Melissa back to her room?"

"R-Right." Sif nodded and gently lifted the unconscious witch in her arms. "I still wish you could have just told her instead of having me lie to her."

"Bah, it's just to get her blood going! Don't worry, she'll be just fine."

_---_

"Jordan, I'm going to _kill_ you!" Melissa leaped out of the bed and began strangling the rogue the moment she woke up, her eyes burning with anger. Jordan flailed around, trying to escape but ultimately failing. "Gamble away my spellbooks, will you? After I kill you, I'm going to burn your body into ashes and then _stomp_ on them before feeding them to fishes!"

It took the combined efforts of Sif, Silvei, and Melanie to pry the furious witch off of Jordan. Melissa glared at the gasping rogue, panting heavily. Jordan scrambled away, holding his hands out in a feeble attempt to placate her.

"It was a joke! A _joke!_" Jordan rasped. "I didn't lose anything and in fact I found out where Ein is going!"

"Oh!" Melissa immediately stopped struggling and a wide smile crossed her face. "Good. Where's Ein going, Jordan? Will I have to burn the information out of you?"

"No, no!" Jordan shouted. "He'll be at the Mireno Cemetery two days from now, trust me. I got this information from a reliable source, my ears. I snuck into Elendia and overheard him talking about some sort of Accursed that was at the cemetery. And I stole these spellbooks too."

"Good work, Jordan." Melissa said happily, accepting the three books Jordan handed to her. "Ooooh…Multi-elemental spells. I haven't seen anything like this in ages. Well, everybody rest up so we can head for Mireno Cemetery tomorrow. Good bye!"

Melissa practically floated out of the room, accompanied by the awestruck and dumbfounded looks of the other demons. The last time any of them had seen Melissa this happy was…never. Even Silvei, who had been with Melissa the longest, had never seen anything as strange as a happy and cheerful Melissa.

"That was…odd." Jordan said, rubbing his throat. "By Hades, this hurts."

Silvei let out an exasperated sigh and bent down, examining his neck. She lightly bopped Jordan on the top of the head. "You big idiot. You were asking for it when you decided to play this joke of yours. I swear, next time, I'm not going to treat you."

"Then I guess I should thank you now." Jordan promptly leaned forward and kissed Silvei on the mouth. Silvei responded by punching him in the face and stomping out of the room haughtily. Jordan, now nursing a rapidly reddening eye, whimpered in pain and began to poke at the sore spot.

"Jordan, you're funny." Melanie let out a childish laugh and kissed the rogue on the cheek before flying off, humming a cheerful song to herself. Jordan looked up at Sif and winced.

"You aren't going to hit me too, are you?" Jordan asked.

"No, although I honestly think I should." Sif knelt down and shook her head. "Jordan, you need to get more serious about things. Life isn't a game to just be toyed around with."

"Bah, who says? I'm a demon. Everything is just a shiny little gem to us." He replied, wincing as pain lanced through the right side of his face. Pushing himself off of the floor, he stretched and rubbed at his head.

"Why do you say that?" Sif asked, a little sad. The ease of which Jordan had said his answer both worried and interested her. Back in Asgard, life was considered to be one of the greatest treasures a person could possess. Yet here, among demons, life was a toy, something that could be thrown away at a moment's notice. _'Is that why they are considered demons? They don't understand what it is to live?'_

"Well, what else can I say? Demons live and die every day." Jordan shrugged. "It's inevitable. Whether it's from old age or from the excitement of battle, death will spring up from its hiding spot and clench us in its jaws. We know this, so we might as well plunge ourselves into the thick of the action. Nothing better than knowing you went out with a bang."

With this, Jordan walked out of the room, where he was promptly punched in the stomach by an angry Silvei. With a huff, Silvei dashed off again, no doubt to get ready to punch the rogue again at some later date. Jordan keeled on the floor, taking in deep breaths of air and trying desperately to not throw up. Sif sighed again and helped him up.

'_Is this what all demons think? But if they possess this attitude, why not devote themselves to more peaceful arts instead of fighting? Haha, what am I thinking? In Asgard, the lesson was this. Demons were evil and had to be exterminated. They were a danger to all who lived. They deserved to be destroyed.'_ Sif thought to herself. Letting out a heavy sigh, she walked over to the study, where Melissa was no doubt examining her new books. If the Gods could see her right now, what would they say? _'They'd probably mark me as a fallen one and strip me of my wings and my powers. I would be marked as a demon.'_

"Hey, Melissa?" Sif asked softly as she entered the room.

"Hmmm?" Melissa looked up from her spellbooks, her blue eyes shining with unbridled excitement. "What is it? Did Jordan do something stupid again? I would so hate it if he ruined the good mood that I'm currently in."

"No, no…" Sif found another chair to sit in and closed her blood-red eyes, taking in a deep breath. She folded her hands on her lap and looked down at the floor. "I was just curious about something. Why do demons have such a disregard for life? Where I came from, life is revered, worshipped."

"Hmm…" Melissa thought about it for a while. "I honestly don't have an idea. It seems to be ingrained in our souls, that killing is a fundamental part of us. If that's true, you might want to have a little talk with your gods, hmm?"

Melissa smirked and continued. "There's been a lot of theories on the origin of demons, all of them Sprite written books, of course. Some say the first demons were Sprites who became corrupted and began murdering other sprites. Others say that the entity that opposed the gods, Hades, created demons in order to eventually take over the world. And even others believe that the demons were created by the gods in order to provide a balance of good and evil in the world."

"…Which one do you believe in?" Sif looked up at Melissa, curious and a little worried.

"Me? None of them." Melissa shook her head and grinned. "We're demons. We're born. We die. Who cares how we came into being? You could ask the same of the gods or of the Sprites. We all live, we all die. That answer your question?"

Sif slowly nodded. "Yes…Not the answer I was hoping for, but it does."

"Why do you ask?" Melissa asked, her eyes shining curiously. "I know you're from Asgard and don't know much about demons since there aren't any there, but you have really delved this deep into the topic before."

"Oh…Well, in Asgard, we were always taught that demons were the living incarnations of evil. Their only care was for warfare, bloodshed, and chaos. It was the duty of the Grim Angels to help protect Asgard by defeating any demons that would dare enter the God's world. You could say the demons were the antithesis of angels." Sif smiled whimsically. "It was my dream to become a Grim Angel, to help defend Asgard against demons. You can't imagine how happy I was to be chosen. I stayed up for hours, just imagining myself as one of the protectors of life."

"You had to give up the ability to dream, didn't you? Why would you want to lose something just for some title?"

"I didn't 'have' to give it away. I chose it. When I was a child, I would always be plagued by nightmares. Demons would come to Asgard, burning and killing. I would try to fight, but every time I would be killed. Other times, I dreamed that I had committed some sin and would be cast down from Asgard to become a Fallen Angel. I thought I was doing myself a favor when I said I would give up my dreams to become an Angel. I never thought I would miss them." Sif took in a deep breath and released it slowly. "And when I came here…I met you, Jordan, and Silvei…You defied many things that I had been told about demons. While you are still too warlike for my liking, you possess…a fire that many angels in Asgard lack."

"Maybe it's just because we're lucky." Melissa shrugged. "Either way, I'm glad you're down here with us. Come on, stop being so depressed. You're weighing down on my good mood. Besides, as long as you're here, you can help keep us on the ground. Honestly, as long as you're with us, we're probably going to live a lot longer."

"Thanks…" Sif stood, rubbing at her eyes. "I never thought I would be happy living with a bunch of demons."

"Well, you better start thinking about it!" Melissa patted Sif cheerfully on the back. "Don't forget, we're heading out to Mireno Cemetery tomorrow to confront Ein. We'll definitely need your help if we ever want to beat them."

Sif froze, going pale. "Y-You want to fight Ein that badly?"

"Of course. He defeated me once. I don't intend on that happening again. And with you on our side, we can't possibly lose!" Melissa stated confidently. "What? Don't tell me you don't want to come."

"…" Sif mumbled something unintelligible.

"Sif?"

"I…I'll be there." Sif said hurriedly as she walked out of the room. _'What am I doing? Agreeing to fight a fellow Grim Angel. I can't be doing this. I have no compulsions to. I could just leave right now and continue with my mission. But why can't I?'_

Sif looked around the small, cramped hideout with its crumbling walls and dirt-covered floor. She looked at Jordan, who was sacked out on one of the couches, a small sliver of drool running out of his open mouth. She looked to Silvei, who was busy carving arrows, shaving off strips of wood until she got the perfect projectile. Melanie crossed her path and Sif looked at the young vampire, who was cheerfully humming a tune as she flew through the base. And she looked at Melissa, who was crouched at her desk, studying the tomes with almost fanatical concentration. She closed her eyes and whispered the words that would bring forth her black wings, wings she had been so proud in getting.

'_These are my friends.'_

Sif flew towards Melanie and smiled at the young child. "Hey, do you want to play?"

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Chris: So, how was that? I actually intended for this to be a "Let's battle Ein!" chapter, but it spiraled into something else. Now it's more of a character background/development plus a little theological discussion about Riviera and a little bit of romance. Weird, huh? Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it and please leave a review telling me what you thought of it. Thanks for reading! 


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